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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26510518">Disconnect</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gospelofthewicked/pseuds/Gospelofthewicked'>Gospelofthewicked</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Captivated [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead by Daylight (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon-Typical Violence, Evan doesn't know what he's doing, Jake is a good friend, M/M, Protective Dwight, The Entity is a cruel deity, everyone has a bad time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:00:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,164</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26510518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gospelofthewicked/pseuds/Gospelofthewicked</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is very, very wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dwight Fairfield/Evan MacMillan | The Trapper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Captivated [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Disconnect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>1. Dwight gets mori'd this chapter. If this is triggering or uncomfortable for you in any way, please skip this installment or proceed with caution.<br/>2.The credit for the realm-travelling idea introduced at the end goes entirely to TrolledByDestiny in their work 'Dear Leader, For You've Been Here The Longest'. Please check it out, it's amazing, and it's what got me into Dwight/Evan</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dwight nearly screamed when Jake silently vaulted through the window behind him and joined him in fixing the generator. Everything had been going suspiciously smoothly, hence his troubled nerves. They had already completed two generators and, aside from Meg being hit once, they had been going through the motions unscathed. </p>
<p>Jake pulled out a rusted brown toolbox, and soon they were rummaging through it together.</p>
<p>“Who do you think we’ve got as the killer?” Dwight asked, breaking the comfortable silence as his nerves began to spike again. Jake frowned a little, he didn’t like small-talk during trials, but he answered nonetheless.</p>
<p>“I’m thinking Wraith. Feng and Kate were complaining about him non-stop when I visited the other camp.”</p>
<p>“You’re not usually the neighbourly type.” Dwight commented, his voice holding only a little judgement.</p>
<p>“It was music night. I like music.” Jake shrugged.</p>
<p>“I thought music night was tomorrow!” Dwight groaned, smacking his forehead. “Meg’s going to kill me.”</p>
<p>“What am I killing you over?” Meg panted, coming into view as she turned a corner. An ugly gash marred her shoulder, and her shirt was soaked in blood.</p>
<p>Dwight and Jake left the generator to meet her half way, supporting her at the waist as they carried her behind the cover of a rock.</p>
<p>“Who is it?” Jake asked as the pair began patching up Meg’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Meg looked only at Jake then, avoiding Dwight’s gaze entirely. “It’s The Trapper. There’s-there’s something wrong with him.”</p>
<p>Dwight’s gut folded up on itself as he looked again at the injury to Meg’s shoulder. Evan had done that?</p>
<p>“I don’t understand, he promised… did he at least ask if I was one of the Survivors this trial?”</p>
<p>“You don’t understand, Dwight.” Meg shook her head frantically. “He’s- you know his metal spikes? He’s got new ones. And they’re bloody. Some of the, uh, the openings looked infected, too. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t say anything.”</p>
<p>“New spikes…” Dwight murmured. Nothing he knew about the Fog, nor anything Evan had told him, could explain this.</p>
<p>“Perhaps the Entity punished him for showing us leniency.” Jake added when it became clear Dwight couldn’t think of anything else to say. Before Dwight could respond to the hypothesis, their hearts flared red, and Meg cursed.</p>
<p>“He must be following my blood trail!” she hissed. Jake and Meg turned to Dwight expectantly. Right. He was the Leader.</p>
<p>“I’ll get him to chase me. If Jake’s right, I’ve got the best chance of talking him down. If not… well, you guys get away.” he smiled weakly.</p>
<p>The trio’s heartbeats drummed in their ears as Evan’s red stain fell upon them. Dwight pushed Jake and Meg back, standing up.</p>
<p>“Hey babe, catch me if you can.” he ducked under Evan’s raised cleaver and took off, throwing a pebble over his shoulder for good measure.The Killer spun around and charged after him. Great, what now? Dwight spied a pallet in the distance and gunned for it. As he approached it, he saw Claudette working on the generator next to it. She stared at him with a terrified expression and he made a desperate U-turn. His thoughtfulness came at a price. Evan slashed his cleaver down Dwight’s back as he turned, causing Dwight to let out a scream. He stumbled forward, but somehow managed to keep his footing and kept running. He didn’t get very far before he was hit over the back of the head and sent sprawling on the floor.</p>
<p>Dwight rolled onto his back to face Evan, desperately praying that Meg was wrong. New shards of metal protruded from his skin, untouched by rust or dirt. Dried blood dotted Evan’s arms. Behind the mask, his eyes were cold.</p>
<p>“Evan.” Dwight began in a shaky voice. “It’s me, Dwight. What’s going on?” </p>
<p>Evan said nothing as he picked Dwight up, but he didn’t need to. Dwight already knew it wasn’t Evan he was talking to. His movements were careful and calculated, impersonal. It was like Evan was just ticking off boxes, disconnected from the situation entirely.</p>
<p>“Is the Entity making you do this? Did it- did it hurt you? Because, if it did, that’s okay.” Dwight lied, “Just tell me. Or nod, or something. Anything really.”</p>
<p>Evan stopped walking, they had come to a hook.</p>
<p>“Evan, please, just-”</p>
<p>The Trapper lifted him up and pain seared through Dwight’s shoulder as the hook pierced his flesh. As Dwight screamed, something like delight twinkled in his eyes, and Dwight could have sworn that he saw a smile playing on his lips. No, this was not Evan being held at metaphorical gunpoint by the Entity, this was Evan hurting him because he wanted to. Dwight squeezed his eyes shut but stinging tears still leaked out. By the time he opened them, Evan was gone.</p>
<p>Dwight mentally braced himself, before beginning an agonising attempt to free himself from the hook. He was going to find Evan now or die trying. He hoped it’d be the latter.</p>
<p>He heard Jake scream as he was hooked nearby. Jake never screamed. Adrenaline burned at Dwight’s fingertips as he finally managed to haul himself off the hook. Pain jolted through his muscles as he landed on his feet, but he forced his legs to move anyway. He had a new plan: save Jake, then get murdered by Evan.</p>
<p>He crouched low in the undergrowth as he weaved his way between rocks and trees, careful not to startle the birds that watched him curiously with their beady black eyes. If they liked Jake so much, why couldn’t they have helped him somehow? The second Dwight left the safety of the trees, a feeling of dread overcame him. He instinctively turned his head, and noticed The Trapper stood on the hill, watching him. Oh, Dwight was screwed.</p>
<p>He didn’t bother to run as Evan approached him, nor did he try to talk to him. The Trapper regarded him silently for a moment, then struck Dwight across the face. Dwight fell onto his back hard, the air fleeing his lungs. He barely had time to adjust to the pain before Evan kicked him onto his back. A firm boot-heel pressed down on his body. Dwight only felt the first few slashes before he fell unconscious.</p>
<p>He awoke by the warmth of the campfire, lying in a pool of his own blood. His back ached as his wounds stitched themselves together and faded. That’s one thing he was thankful for in the Fog, that the injuries weren’t permanent. Shame it didn’t do the same for emotions, because Dwight felt like shit.</p>
<p>Evan hadn’t mori’d for a long time, not since the first month of their old cat-and-mouse game. But he had just slashed him to death on the ground. He hadn’t even hesitated. Dwight considered sitting up, before lying back and staring blankly at the sky. His mind went blank until Jake sat down on the log next to him, clutching his shoulder. Dwight didn’t know how long he’d been there. He didn’t care.</p>
<p>“Hey.” Jake said, looking uncomfortable being the one to initiate conversation. “Your clothes are going to be ruined for a while, want to borrow my jacket?”</p>
<p>His clothes, ruined. Because there was blood all over them. Because his new boyfriend had just murdered him in an unnecessarily brutal manner. Jake slid off his log to sit cross-legged by Dwight.</p>
<p>“Permission to hug?” he asked softly. Dwight managed a shrug. Next thing he knew, Jake was lying down next to him and holding him gingerly. Dwight sighed, before burying his face in Jake’s shoulder. The other Survivor gave him an awkward pat. Then he frowned, taking his jacket off and laying it over Dwight like a blanket before resuming the hug. The coat smelled of wet leaves, just like Jake.</p>
<p>“Was he just playing with us?” he asked quietly. “I was an idiot, wasn’t I? For thinking a Killer could love someone, love me.”</p>
<p>“No.” Jake answered firmly. “No. I think he liked you, Dwight. Meg’s right, something happened to him. The spikes, him acting strangely…”</p>
<p>“What was he like, when he hooked you?” Dwight mumbled into Jake’s shoulder. Jake pulled a face.</p>
<p>“I don’t think me telling you is going to help you feel better.”</p>
<p>“Please, I need to know.” Dwight pleaded. His friend sighed.</p>
<p>“He was… weird. Colder. He didn’t call me saboteur once. Oh, and he placed his traps all wrong.”</p>
<p>Dwight perked up at that. “What do you mean, ‘wrong’?”</p>
<p>“Well, not where he normally does. Remember, when we all first came here? He didn’t know to put them under windows and next to pallets or anything like that, just like we didn’t know stuff. It was like that again. There were still some hidden in the grass, but none in our popular spots.”</p>
<p>“He mori’d me. He hasn’t done that for ages.” Dwight said. Jake winced, actually winced.</p>
<p>“That, um, that sucks.” Jake said clumsily. They both went quiet. With the campfire and the coat combined, Dwight soon felt stifled and sat up, letting the coat fall off him. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were being stabbed into his spine.</p>
<p>“Fuck.” he bit his lip “I thought it would have healed by now.”</p>
<p>“Mori’s take longer, remember?” Jake reminded him gently “The Entity will reset it soon enough, it always does.”</p>
<p>Dwight gasped. Then, he shook Jake. “A reset, that’s it, you genius! Jake, I could kiss you!”</p>
<p>“Please don’t.” Jake dead-panned.</p>
<p>“Evan’s been reset! That explains everything! Why he’s doing things differently, why he didn’t react to me, he doesn’t remember us! And the spike- the Entity’s punished him. We’re all its playthings, even Killers. If it can reset our bodies, why not their minds too? I bet it’d be capable.”</p>
<p>Jake stared at him for a while. “That… actually isn’t as crazy as I thought it sounded after the first sentence. But we don’t know that for sure. And even so, what do we do with that information?”</p>
<p>There was a thud as Meg landed back at the campsite, clutching her stomach. There was a gaping hole in it that was already being knit closed. They barely had time to register her presence before she rushed over to Dwight, nearly bowling him over.</p>
<p>“Dwight! Are you okay? I saw what happened.”</p>
<p>“About that. Jake and I have an idea what might have happened. We think Evan’s been reset. To whatever mindset he had when he first came here. It’s crazy, but not the weirdest thing to happen in the Fog.”</p>
<p>“Woah.” said Meg, which was appropriate.</p>
<p>“Even if that’s true, which we don’t know, that doesn’t exactly help us.” interjected Jake, before Meg smacked him on the back of the head.</p>
<p>“Now is not the time to be a pessimist!” she admonished. “If he’s been reset or whatever, that just means we need time to remind him! We can try and… dig up the old save file?”</p>
<p>Jake and Dwight exchanged a nonplussed glance. Meg huffed. “I don’t know, Feng has been trying to teach me tech talk. I don’t understand anything she says. Look, what I mean is that our Trap-Evan might still be in there somewhere. If we know what he’s been reset to, maybe we’ll know how to make him come back. It’s better than doing nothing!”</p>
<p>Dwight shook his head “Still, we don’t have time. We’ll only get to see him in trials, and he’ll be hunting us down.”</p>
<p>Jake pressed his fingers together, looking into the campfire. “That’s not strictly true. There is a way you can see him outside of trials.”</p>
<p>Meg and Dwight stared at him. He sighed. “Just… don’t get mad that I didn’t tell you before, okay? In between Trials, you can travel to different killers’ realms. If you walk out into the woods and imagine the place you’re trying to get to, so long as it’s not an escape, you’ll get there.”</p>
<p>“What? How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell us?” Meg squawked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I accidentally went to The Trapper’s place when I was thinking about it on a walk. Found a lot of cool junk. And you guys never asked about seeing a Killer.” he shrugged.</p>
<p>Dwight stood up. The pain in his back had almost completely vanished. “Well, that settles it. I’ll think about Evan and coal towers and getting horribly murdered, and do my best to figure it out.”</p>
<p>“I’m going with you.” Jake said firmly. “It looks different outside of Trials, and I’ve been there before. Besides, I don’t want you doing this on your own.”</p>
<p>“I’m coming too!” Meg chimed in, but Jake shook his head. </p>
<p>“Claudette will need someone here for her when she gets back.”</p>
<p>Meg looked like she was going to protest for a moment, before sighing and nodding. “You’re right.” she sighed.</p>
<p>“Always am.” Jake answered with a small smile. He turned to Dwight. “You ready?”</p>
<p>“Ready as I’ll ever be.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for coming back yet again, folks! Next installment, we'll be taking a quick break from the drama to catch up with our two gals, hope you're looking forward to it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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